2009 OUT 2010 IN

Another year is coming to an end. We are so very lucky----so many people are struggling. I know you all are but hang in there and be strong---take one day at a time.....good health, great kids, awesome family----that is the greatest blessing anyone could have. Christmas was great and the kids were lots of fun with the games. The song deal got a bit intense but all ended well. I enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner and our visiting on Christmas morning. After that I was a zombie---did absolutely nothing the rest of the day!!! I am so very proud of all of you and am looking forward to another year with the greatest kids and grandkids ever!!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Well family wherever you are.....Here are some of the pictures from Thanksgiving. It was a great day and it's always nice to have family around during the holidays and also to welcome our newest addition to the clan little Brody, he is so damn cute and I am so glad he is finally home with his Mom where he belongs. Speaking of my Sisters where are you? Now girls facebook is fine and dandy but you all know that if we don't post on here to we are going to have to hear it from our Mother Geez. It actually would be nice to see someone else posting on here ya know.
So life in my world is going alright I have had my struggles lately with job changes etc. but things are looking better and I will be ok. Just taking things one day at a time and trying not to let the crazy people get to me.
Ok so that's all for now I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all and I'm very grateful that I have such a terrific family.
Love
Suzy

Thankful We Are

Brody Neil Lierd made his appearance on November 1, 2009----Weston's 10th birthday! What are the odds? He was in NICU for almost three weeks but is home and doing well now. He is a cutie and a such a special addition to a GREAT family. We have so much to be thankful for and hopefully that is on everyone's mind this time of year. We have so much more than many people do and need to realize it and not take anything for granted. You are a great bunch, fun to be around and hard workers. I am very proud of each and everyone of you. My grandchildren are the best of course---handsome, smart, beautiful and all around AWESOME. I wouldn't trade any of you!!!

Hello Family

Yes, it has been awhile but I just never seem to have much energy to sit in front of the computer. I try to do a little work in the basement here and there but only for about an hour at a time until my back starts hurting from sitting. In case some of you haven't seen me in a while, there is ALOT more of me to love! That little bugger never lets me get any sleep which is why it is after 2:00 a.m. and I am wide awake. I can't seem to get comfortable no matter what I try. Tylenol PM doesnt even help. I am going on my 3rd night in a row with very little sleep. So I get up and wander through the house, watch tv, unload the dishwasher, read on the couch and other various things that should not be happening after about 10pm.
The boys are all doing good. Braxton is finally over what ever sickness he had and they are all still enjoying football. Both Weston and Garrett's team made it to the playoffs and played their first game today. Westons team won 20-0 but sadly Garrett's team lost 21-14. They were all very sad because for a bunch of little scrawny boys, they put up one hell of a fight every week and really kicked butt in the regular season only losing 1 game. This means of course that they are out of the playoffs now but will take a week off and then begin practice again for the tournament that they are going to play in starting in November. They all really work hard and have not complained once over the past 3 months. I am very proud of them.
Dennis has been in town the last couple weeks and it has been nice to have someone else be the "Football Shuttle Bus".
I think I have finally convinced him to finish the room in the basement for Braxton next weekend so we can start moving kids around. I would like to get Brody's room set up and have everything ready. Then Tammy won't have to be doing it while I am at the hospital like she has done before! With me you never know when my body might decide to give birth!
I don't remember being this uncomfortable with the other 2 boys but isnt there a saying about mentally blocking it all out because if you remembered everything then you would never have more than 1 child? My stomach feels so tight and achy all the time. I can tell when I am having some small contractions because it gets even worse.
My right foot is always swollen and nothing seems to help. I usually have it elevated all night and it is still looks like I have a club foot in the morning!
I sure hope the fact that Brody never seems to sleep now means that he is going to be a very good sleeper when he comes out!
I should head back to bed AGAIN and see if that sleep thing will work this time!

SUCCESS/FAILURE ? MATURE/OLD?

I don't know where to classify myself anymore. I am 63 years old and don't know if I have been a failure or a success with my life. Sadly I am not even sure if I am mature or just plain old. I thought wisdom came with age---must have been a lie!!! Life is so difficult at times and all any of us want is some peace and happiness. It seems so unreachable most times that many people quit trying. I will always put one foot in front of the other and keep trying to find that peak. Grandpa Hanks never liked a whiner---no matter what the issue, we were told to "grab our boot straps, pull yourself up and get on with living." I have come to realize that it has to come from within---no one can give it to you. I enjoy my family and the times we have together. Being able to watch the grandkids grow up is such a blessing. The simple things are the most important-------"The rich man is not the one who has the most......but the one who needs the least." The rough times we are facing now should make us all realize that we don't need as much as we think----Time should be spent and money saved. Memories are all you have in the end and taking time is what creates them.

MELON DAYS 2009

Yes Mother the Black's definately rock. Melon Days was great, it's been a long time since we have all been there together. Watching the kids get the float ready reminded me of all the years we used to get down there at 10 or 11 at night and throw together what we had been planning in our heads and getting up early for the finishing touches since it was always so hard to see what we were doing after dark. I can say it sure made me remember all the good times we had and how lucky we were to have had them and also how lucky our kids are to be able to do the same thing we did as kids. Not many kids get the chance to know their great grandparents but ours have and it is something I hope they will cherish and never forget just as I will always cherish our times down their growing up. Yea we complained alot about leaving our friends all summer but thinking back I wouldn't change it for anything. Hell I wish life was as simple now as it was then. Ok so I put together a slideshow of the pictures from Melon Days to put on here, we can't have our Mother complaining that we only post on Facebook now Geez. I am glad that we all got to go down this year an I will hope that we will have the chance to do it all again next year!! They are great times that neither us or our children should ever forget memories last forever don't ya know.
Love to all
Suzy

BLACK'S ROCK!!!!!

The week-end in Torrey was great---Boyd was so tickled to have you all there for a visit and some good food. This past week-end in Green River was also a success. You all did a great job with the food and clean-up. Mom and Dad really enjoyed visiting and eating some good meals. The memories of these two trips are priceless to us all. I am proud of all of you----taking the time to do this was awesome. I am hoping someone got lots of pictures as I really would love to have copies of some from both of these camp-trips. Memories are worth more than money in the bank---you will never regret doing these kind of things. Your children are so fortunate to have great-grandparents-----it is a privilege that not many kids have. I hope they will never forget the good times with us as that is the most important thing we can leave for them.

I GIVE UP!!!!

T0day was Steve's birthday--he is 62. We are getting old and it is so very hard to have to admit to that. Thanks to the ones who called and wished him Happy Birthday---it was appreciated. The others I have no words for. I appreciate all the effort that went into the trip to Torrey. Grandpa really enjoyed having you all down there....He has told us that every day for the past week.

HELLO FAMILY!!!!!!!!

The news from this end of the family isn't much but like to make sure everyone is informed. I took a few days off last week and we took the Corvette out for a bit of a spin. I wanted to see if it would run after almost $3500.00 in repairs. It ran great and I got it up over 90 miles an hour on a few stretches in Nevada-----cops don't take kindly to speeding even if it is in a VETTE!!! We went through Baker, Ely and back to Wendover and spent the night. I learned to play roulette and did come out about $40.00 ahead and for me that was a surprise. We tried to stop and see Rex and Charlene in Geneola but they were not at home. Rex has been having health problems for the last couple of years. Jacque and I took the horses down to the Equestrian Center last week. I was the one who got thrown off-----my supposedly bomb-proof horse. I got up and got back on----I'm tough don't you know!!! That was a good day despite the upset though. Work for me is chaos and I don't seem to have the energy for it anymore. Steve hasn't done much for the last few months so he is understandably worried about his job. Boyd seems to be doing alright---had to put his pup Ladd to sleep so we took him another one. He agreed to keep it for two weeks only. Well now he has changed his mind and said we can't come and get him. His name is Prince. I have taken over some of his finances as he gets things mixed up. The scary thing is between the farm and home bills I have and his I am getting CONFUSED!!! Mom and Dad are doing okay but they also seem to do some crazy things. Dad put in some asphalt and it cost him $8500.00. They also bought a $2000.00 vacuum----crazy stuff!! There seems to be no end to people going around and taking advantage of the elderly....wish there was some way to stop it. I am hoping we do not get quite like that-----you kids will have your hands full trying to keep us in line. Hope someone has the time!!!

YES MOTHER I'M STILL ALIVE JUST BUSY!!!

Hello all, yea I haven't posted anything on here in awhile but I have been busy working 2 jobs so by the time I get home I am usually beat. All is going ok other than me and Steven seem to have non-stop car problems lately. Steven has been working all summer for West Valley City and playing baseball as always. I do have some pictures and I promise I will make time to put them on here soon. I was just sitting at work this morning and it's kinda quiet so I figured I better write something just to let everyone know we're still alive an kicking. In case you don't all know already I moved into a basement apartment in Sandy it's great other than I swear I'll never figure out how I want to hang all my pictures etc and I still have boxes in the shed I haven't even started looking threw yet but I'm sure Ill get there sooner or later. I am still working at Frankco Mon thru Fri then also working at a Maverik Fri, Sat and Sun so I am staying pretty busy so basically my life has been boring other than Steve's games I have been able to make when I'm not working. So there is my update for now and I will get some more pictures on here soon I promise. I hope all is well and hopefully someone else will post on here soon also so our Mother doesn't think we've all abandoned the family blog for facebook so get on it guys.
Love ya all
Sue

NO BLOGGERS JUST FACEBOOK USERS!!!!

I don't hear from any of you much anymore nor do you post the news from your family. I gather that most of you keep in touch with FACEBOOK. Not much going on with the parents---work, work and work. Steve is farming and worrying about it every day. I am still stressing at England with everything going wrong all the time. Sounds like a great life to me!!! I got through my tests alright and things look ok. I have some issues because of the medicine I am on but not much I can do about it. I have to do them again in 6 months. Boyd was in town this week for a check-up because he has had some black-out spells. They took him off some of his medicine and he has to be re-checked in 30 days. They think the medicine could have caused his blood pressure to drop too low. Dad had a spot removed off his ear and it came back abnormal but at this time they will just watch it close. Randy is stressing because Nick has some issues and has been flown back to Maryland because of seizures. Hopefully they will have some answers as to what is wrong sometime next week. You think it gets easier when your kids get older but it doesn't.....worrying never ends. I don't get to see much of my family and the grandkids are growing up fast. Where do the days, weeks and months go? I have a BUCKET list that gets longer every day and I have my doubts I will ever be able to accomplish all of it. I took a picture of a rainbow at the farm a couple weeks ago---it was a double one and went clear across the sky so have posted it here so you can all see it. Sometimes the best moments are when the world stops just for a second and you get to see the beauty that is around you.

The little sister is going to be 21...YAY!!!

The soon-to-be birthday girl!!

Ok kids, the time has come for a celebration of greatness to celebrate the 21st year of my birth! haha no seriously guys where are we going to go for my birthday? Amanda will be in Vegas that weekend and a couple of my friends want to go to Vegas. I am thinking that i just might try and plan a separate trip with my friends cause it is already too hard to get everyone together on the same day. I want to go somewhere fun with my sisters (Chevaun included of course) so give me some ideas. Remember: Inexpensive is the way to go.... poor college student here with a new car. ok let me know what ya'll think because it needs to be a good time!

Loves,

Trina Marie

21 Years UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

Steve and I have been married for 21 years today----time flies when you are having fun right?????? I guess the secret to staying married is to each have your own house in different towns!!!! I am a loser and never keep track of these kind of things but because of Trina's age I can . I don't know exactly where he is on this anniversary day----Ephraim or somewhere but he will show up again eventually......like a bad penny!!!!

May 2009

The months come and go so fast anymore. I just get so I can write the new month and it is gone. May was busy as usual. I went to Torrey and Green River to decorate the graves over Memorial Day Week-End. I don't know what will happen with all this traditon when Jacque and I are gone. No one seems to worry about it like we do-----habit, I guess as that is what we have always done. Grandpa Hanks made sure that we were all there decorating the graves and cleaning them up. The grandkids are growing so fast that I hardly know them anymore. As I watch them grow and mature I realize how really old I am getting. It is hard to watch the years go by and wonder how much longer I will be able to function and enjoy life. Steve and I are both having these thoughts nowadays as we can't seem to go and do as much as we want. Hard to explain how depressing that is!!!! I enjoyed watching Braxton, Weston and Garret in a motorcycle race this last week-end. I got far too much sun doing it though. Colton wants to race so will have to make sure I get to see him at least once. Steven is playing baseball and went to a couple of his games. Hunter had a school play so went to watch that also. She will be going into Junior High next year----as I said time is reallly flying by!!!! The news that Jodie and Dennis are expecting is exciting and scary as I worry about Jodie and her health. She seems to be doing good though and has some good doctors this time I think. We are all waiting to see if this will be the GIRL!! Dennis told the boys they will get smacked if the girl does something wrong. That will be it as he will turn into a big SOFTIE!!!! Tammy is doing great---busy with the job and kids. Brenna is playing baseball----Tanner is growing up fast and Colton is going into high school. Amanda is doing fine but don't hear from her very often. Sue moved into her own place in Sandy the middle of May. It is nice and affordable for her. She is still trying to sort all her stuff out though. Dirk and Chevaun are busy with jobs, farm and of course their own place. Macie is growing up fast. Trina is worrying about her 21st birthday, working and going to school. She is considering being an Ultra-Sound technician now. We all have our jobs and food on the table so the Black Family will SURVIVE!!!!

April 2009

Everyone must be busy as there have been no new posts for over a month. The first week-end of April some of us went to Torrey and did some clean-up for Grandpa. Dirk and Chevaun took their trailer (the new one) and we took ours. Jodie and Dennis drove over from Hanksville. We did manage to get quite a bit done both inside and outside. We need to go down again and try to keep working at it. There is lots to be done. We fought snow real bad over Indian Canyon---that was fun. Then on the return trip the truck gave us trouble so we could only go about 50 miles an hour. By the time Colton and I got back to Salt Lake Sunday night we had been on the road for awhile!!! $2000.00 later the truck appears to be fixed.
Jodie, Dennis and their kids and Tammy, Mark and their kids all went to Florida for a week over the Easter break. They had a good time. Dirk, Chevaun and kids were camping in Hanksville so Steve and I just worked at the farm and then went to Green River and had dinner with Mom and Dad.
The weather has not been the greatest and I just keep waiting on spring to come--am beginning to think it won't happen. I think we will go right into summer and hot weather.
The family picture was great---I have a big one in my family room and I love it. I took one down to Boyd and one to Mom and Dad. I am very PROUD OF MY FAMILY!!! They are an awesome bunch.

Crazy weekend!

Thank you all for worrying about us this weekend. In case you haven't heard the whole story, I had typed it out on my blog and then just copied it all over here so that I didn't have to retype it.
Dad was a real trooper and we really appreciate all his help. Dirk was also helpful and did alot of driving for us although he had come all the way from Phoenix. I hope that they have caught up on their sleep now cause Lord knows they needed it! Even though our plans of coming home got botched on Sunday, I was kind of glad because we got to make up for the lost time from Friday and Saturday. It was nice to sit down and relax with a nice dinner knowing that we were all safe and sound!!


The past 4 days have been an absolute nightmare for us!! We left town at 3pm Friday afternoon and headed to Price to turn in a bid on a job. After that we headed over Indian Canyon to spend the weekend at my parents farm in Bridgeland. We had BIG plans for the weekend. We had brought our golf clubs and thought we might sneak over to Roosevelt on Saturday and golf a little. We also had a trailer with the boys' motorcycles. They were excited to ride all weekend with their cousins.
When we got to the top of Indian Canyon there was an older man standing on the side of the road waving his arms like crazy for us to stop. Den pulled the truck over and the guy said that his car had gotten stuck in the snow a couple miles up a different canyon and that his wife was still with the car and could we please come help them. I looked at Den and I could tell that he didn't really want to but he would never have said no. We had to drop the trailer at the side of the road and figured that we would be right back for it. YA RIGHT!!
The road was pretty snowy going in but we didnt have any problems until we saw the guy's car. Den got caught in a rut that we did not see under the snow and it pulled us off the side of the road into a big hole. Just great! It was about 5:30 when this all happened and we tried like heck to get the truck out but it started getting dark and so by 7 I called my Mom and asked her to find my Dad and let him know that we were in trouble and needed some help. My Dad called me at 8 and said that he was stuck too! He got himself dug out and got stuck a couple more times before he finally made it to us. I was starting to get worried because we didnt have any food or water for the kids. We had stopped in Helper and gotten them a treat and a drink about 4:30 but they had finished everything off by now. My Dad got our truck pulled out with no problem and then Den pulled out the German couple. We were all wanting to leave the canyon from the opposite direction we had come in because the snow was so bad. The German couple were driving a 4 runner and had made it clear in with very little problems until they had slid off in a rut when the snow got bad. They insisted on going out the way we had come in because it was only 3 miles versus the 30 that they had driven coming in from the other side. Den and my Dad were upset but finally gave in and got all the vehicles turned around and headed back to Indian Canyon. It was about 9:30 by this time and we knew we still had troubles ahead but were feeling pretty positive. Then it just seemed like we took turns getting stuck and pulling each other out for about half a mile. Den got stuck one last time and in the process of trying to get himself out, he blew out the front end in his truck and was now without 4 wheel drive. We threw our hands in the air and decided to try to get out in my Dad's truck and would come back the next day for Dennis' truck. The Germans were behind Den's truck and the road was so narrow that there was no way to pass so they chose to spend the night in their car. They said that they had plenty to keep them warm. We left the keys in our truck so they could get in there and keep warm if they were worried about running out of gas. For the next 2 hours we would drive a little then get stuck and have to dig out and throw dirt under the tires. We would get going again only to get stuck again. It was absolutely ridiculous! The boys were being so good but I knew they were tired and hungry. Finally at about midnight, we slid to the side of the road and got stuck with the truck leaning to the right in a very deep hole. This was the final straw because there is no way we could dig ourselves out of that one. We called a wrecker out of Price and they said they would be there in an hour. 1:00 came then 2:00 before we finally saw the headlights of the wrecker. We were so uncomfortable! The truck was leaning and I was on the downhill side so I had all 3 boys pushing against me. They had finally all fallen asleep which was good but it couldn't have been very restful.
We named the wrecker guys Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum right off the bat. They actually drove in there without chains so from 2:00 until about 3:30 we sat in the pickup and watched them attempt to chain up their truck. OMG what a joke they were. I swore that if I saw one more butt crack I was going to puke! Dennis had lost his patience by now and was getting very frustrated. My Dad was trying to be positive but was feeling like he should be doing something. I just wanted them to rest in the truck because they had worked so hard trying to get us out all night and had been completely frozen from the knees down. SO finally T Dee and T Dum finally hooked onto the truck at about 4:00 in the morning! We were not making any progress though because our truck was just pulling their truck down the hill. It took Dennis telling them to anchor their truck to the tree in front of them to make it work. (You'd think that if they spent every day doing this then they could have come up with that on their own!!) During this time, my brother had brought chains and other supplies and was waiting at the top to come in and get us if the idiots couldn't handle it. We finally got out and got back on the highway about 5:15 am. We were going to get the trailer we had dropped and head back to the farm for a couple hours until daylight. Dennis had told his friend to drop one of our work trucks at the mouth of the canyon on the bottom side so that he could use that to go in and pull his truck out in the morning. There was NO way that they were going to come in from the Indian Canyon side again even if it was a 30 mile drive to the truck instead of 3.
As if our night (and morning) hadn't been bad enough, when my brother stopped to hook onto our trailer we noticed that the straps had been undone and Weston's new motorcycle had been stolen!! He had just gotten it for his birthday in November and had only been able to ride it twice because of the winter and basketball season. I was soooo mad. I can't believe how horrible people are sometimes. It was obvious that it was a kid's bike. How can you feel good about stealing from a child! Didn't they realize that we must have had problems or the trailer wouldn't have been left there in the first place. Poor Weston just cried and cried. He kept asking me why someone would do that. What do you say to that? Dennis told him when we got home not to worry because whoever had stolen it had just bought themselves a one way ticket to hell! I only hope that they get what's coming to them someday!
We got back to the farm at 6am and the plan was for them to leave again at 7:30 in Dirk's truck and head back up to get our other truck that was waiting and hopefully get in and out with no problems. We had a little something to eat until 6:30 and then Dennis and my Dad tried to sleep for the hour they had left. It was horrible to watch them have to drag themselves up and back out the door. I felt so bad. I decided to "take one for the team" and not go to bed either because I felt so bad that they weren't getting to rest. We waited all day and did not see them until about 3:00 that afternoon but at least they were all home and so were all the pickups. Apparently, they didn't have any problems and had just put chains on the front tires of both trucks going in and then a set on the back tires of Den's truck that was stuck so that it could get out in 2 wheel drive. Den and my brother both reamed the Germans pretty bad and told them how STUPID they were for going on that road in the first place. Can you believe that they had actually had to open and close several private property gates to stay on that road. Wouldn't you get a clue and realize that you shouldn't be on that road and turn around? Geez...I don't know about some people.
That wasn't quite the end though....
Den locked the keys in the Dodge work truck which I had to drive home and he shattered the back window trying to break in.
Then.... we headed home about 2:30 Sunday afternoon and got completely shut down near Current Creek because a tanker had rolled over and the road was closed. The snow and the wind were so bad that the highway had just turned to a sheet of ice. Den was pulling the trailer with his now 2 wheel drive truck and I was behind him in the Dodge. When I hit the brakes to stop all I did was slide across the road. I was pretty freaked out that I would hit something. We decided that our weekend had been bad enough and that we didnt need any more problems so we were going to turn around and go back to the farm and come in Monday morning instead. My Mom was a little ways behind us so I called her and told her not to bother coming because we weren't getting through anyway. Den couldn't turn around with the trailer on the ice so he had to unhook from his truck and use the Dodge that I was driving just to get the trailer turned around and headed back to the farm.
We got back and cooked everyone a nice steak dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.
We came in this morning and it was still snowy but nothing too bad.
Then to top off our weekend, we pull up to our house and 2/3 of our fence has blown down and is lying in pieces in our yard. I guess the winds were reported at nearly 80 mph in Lehi. We drove around the neighborhood and felt better when we realized that we weren't the only ones that had lost their fence.
OH....... what a wild weekend. I figure with the cost of the tow truck, the stolen motorcycle and the repair bill for the pickup, it was easily a $5000.00 to $6000.00 weekend for us. That doesn't even count having to replace the fence!
Can you believe all this happened to us just for trying to be Good Samaritans??

Pool or Insanity???

Hi again, well since the Frankco bowling ended life has been pretty quiet for me but I recently started playing in a pool tournament once a week with Whiskey. We do our fair share of acting stupid but I've been having fun. I have definately decided I need to start practicing pool more often it's sad to think I actually grew up with a pool table outside my bedroom door and I shoot like shit these days. The more I play the better I'm getting but still I suck I'm thinking I may have to spend sometime on the pool table at the farm this summer. Anyway since I seem to carry my camera everywhere I had some pictures of me, Whiskey and the gang goofing off that I took to send Kristie so I figured I would share my once a week insanity with you also.
Love to all
Suzy

Steven's Car

Hello all I just thought I'd put Steven and his new car on here so you can all see for yourself he is nuts and of course spoiled. Other than that all is well except for the fact making sure he had a vehicle has broke me but hey I guess kids are put here to break us right. Anyway check out my child an his silly poses with his new car. I'll post some more on here again soon.
Love Suzy

Better late than never...

Ok so Christmas has been over for 2 months now and we are all thankful for that but I hadn't gotten a chance to post any of the pictures yet. The ones where the kids all have their L7 hoodies on is really cool. It was a good night and I am glad that everyone was there... well almost everyone.
Thank you Sue and Mom for posting some recent news. Tammy... where are you? I thought you would be all over this blog thing. I know we are all busy though. Who am I to talk right?
My world has been busy.. I'm sure you all know about Weston breaking his arm. He is really happy to have a soft cast on now. At least he can take it off to get in the shower. Those hard casts are so stinky and nasty!
We are in our 7th week of basketball which means just one more to go. (Well actually Braxton has 2 because they cancelled one of his games). Mom has been my Thursday night date for Garrett's games. Dennis doesnt get home until Friday and I don't want to go and sit by Jim and his hoochie mama by myself. After the games we usually go get a dessert or recently I have been buying one ahead of time and then we come back to my house and have dessert and tea! Thank you Mom for coming and hanging out with us.
I have been busy the last couple days printing off all of my pictures for the last year and a half. I havent worked on my scrapbook since July 2007 so I thought I would catch it up over the next couple weeks. I had no idea that I had so many pictures and things going on though. I had the brilliant idea to print them all at home on my new photosmart printer that Dennis got me for my birthday. Its a great idea if you were caught up and didnt keep it running 24/7. I have gone through 2 print cartridges and about 250 pieces of 4x6 photo paper and I still only made it to Sept 2008. Add all that up and I have spent about $100.00 so far on cartriges and paper and it's going to cost me another $50 to go buy more. I'm so smart... I should have just sent them all online to Walmart and paid half the cost. Sometimes... I wonder about myself.

Frankco Bowlers???

Hello all, I finally figured out how to create a slideshow but couldn't get it to post so Jodie had to help. Anyway I had some pictures of my work bowling night so I figured I'd share them with you all. Now are we bowlers or a bunch of nuts well you can decide that for yourself but whatever we are we always have alot of fun. The guys I work with are always good entertainment.
Love Ya
Suzy

Mom's Words of Wisdom!!!

I found a book today---actually was going to give it to Dirk for his birthday----and have read some very inspiring thoughts in it. So my lucky family you are going to see some of them. It is about why America is struggling and how we need to recapture what America once stood for. This writer thinks we should look to the Cowboy and their way of life for our answers.
The Code of the West
1. Live each day with courage
2. Take pride in your work
3. Always finish what you start
4. Do what has to be done
5. Be tough but fair
6. When you make a promise, keep it
7. Ride for the brand
8. Talk less and say more
9. Remember that some things aren't for sale
10. Know where to draw the line

Seven Core Values we can all share

1. COURAGE
2. OPTIMISM
3. SELF-RELIANCE
4. AUTHENTICITY
5. HONOR
6. DUTY
7. HEART

A couple of the quotes that I like----"A man who doesn't stand for something will fall for anything" "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"
"If you're lookin for a helpin hand, try the one on the end of you own damn arm" "Never cut what you can untie" "Always tighten your own cinch" "The rich man is not the one who has the most...but the one who needs the least" "Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation" and finally "Americans have always been able to handle austerity and even adversity, properity is what is doing us in."

This was pretty interesting and so true---Identity used to come from your family, your community and you expressed your personal values in word and deed. Now it seems to come mainly from what you own and what lifestyle you flaunt. It used to be that if you were smart, hard-working and kept your nose clean you'd earn enough for you and your family to live a comfortable life. But today, that's not enough. The lesson we teach now is you better get rich or you're screwed.

The little things are all that really count.....we all need to take heed and make sure we are not the greedy, tech-savvy, get rich people who have no time for what really matters. In the end it is not how you're buried but how you are remembered!

Chevaun "The Quilt Maker"

We made this quilt for Roseanne one week-end. It was a girls only-all-night deal with a little fun, some work and a few drinks! Chevaun made one for Macie and it turned out so cute that Roseanne decided we needed to make her one. She picked out some pretty neat material and as you can see it turned out AWESOME!!!

MACIE MOO!!!!!!

Here is that CRAZY baby! She is growing fast now and quite the little personality. The cheesy smile was for me when I was trying to take her picture.

Yes I'm Still Here!

Okay mother I figured I better post something on here so you know I'm still alive. Everything is going ok Steven got his drivers license scary thought I know but yes he is now officially legal to drive. Hell I hope that doesn't mean I'm gettting old. Work has been going pretty good, I have also been on a bowling league with my work and it has actually been alot of fun. I have some pictures from Thanksgiving and Christmas I am going to post with this sorry I didn't get them on here sooner. Other than that all is well in the world of Sue. Well since I am sitting at work posting this I am gonna make this short and sweet and I will post some bowling photo's etc on here soon also.

Love to All

Sue

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am wondering why no one enjoys this as much as I do. It is great to see the pictures and get a recap of what is going on. The Vegas story is great and Mom did have a good time. I paid dearly for it though. I am getting old!!! What's new that I know about----Steven got his driver's license so everyone be very careful out on the roads-----Macie is a real ham----we all think she is funny and so does she! She laughs at herself and makes us laugh harder at her----crazy baby! Max has had a skin infection so all we do here is doctor the damn dog!!! This has already been going on for three weeks and he is not better yet. Jacque broke her ankle back in December so she has been laid up. Eva and Ada passed away a month apart and she was unable to attend either funeral. Mom is now the only one left. She had a bit of a hard time with it all. Trina, Colton, Jodie, Dennis and I went to Green River and over to Ada's funeral in Grand Junction. The weather is cold, Obama is president, and the economy sucks but other than that we are all well. HELLO 2009___here we are!!!!!